Sunday, 1 May 2011

Nuptial Fever

It's finally happened. The Wedding of the Century has taken place - and I admit I watched it live on BBC while gossiping with my friends about everything: the trees in Westmister Abbey (they added a beyond beautiful, slightly medieval forest-like touch that went great with the dress), the Spanish royalty's looks (up with the Queen and down with Letizia!), Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie's fabulousness (I'm a fan) and, of course, Sarah Burton's dress for Kate Middleton. Which came as such a great surprise since I was terrified with the possibility that the Princess would take inspiration from *frets* Lady Di's puffy meringue-like wedding dress rather than Grace Kelly's divine Helen Rose Hollywood-designed number.The Wedding went smoothly and it was great fun, even for us uninvited voyeurs. And it seems to have triggered a kind of nuptial frenzy that's spreading everywhere like a virus. The wedding planner in me enjoys it all greatly, so I have taken a look back into some chic weddings of the XXth century. I love the genuinely happy expressions of the brides and grooms. The cynical side of me, however, knows that most of the happy weddings below ended in divorce, bitter divorce or misery. Makes a girl think twice before going head over heels for a big romantic wedding with a virginal white dress and a prince charming. But I guess the important thing is to celebrate love with a happy day - and a great party.

I love the way Joan Crawford couldn't (and wouldn't) help being a supermodern 20's vamp, even on her wedding day. Her attitude here is more "dare you?" than "blushing bride-to-be". Slightly inapporpriate. All very Hollywood.

Beautiful Ingrid Bergman married Petter Lindström before moving to America. The marriage went smoothly until she had a scandalous affair (and got pregnant by) Italian director Roberto Rossellini. All this may spoil the romanticism of this wedding picture, but, as she told her friend Humphrey Bogart in the midst of the Rossellini scandal, "now I am happy".

Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles (one of my favourite Hollywood couples) went for a laid back, understated look on their wedding day. Living with a genius proved challenging though for lovely Rita, and soon after the divorce she married Prince Aly Khan.

As happy as she might look in this picture, little did she know her prince of a husband would turn into an extremely cruel man that made her life living hell. Good thing divorce exists.

Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra had a torrid romance. Their marriage, though, seemed sometimes more like a cocktail party gone awry than a marriage at all. Years later, when Old Blue Eyes married Mia Farrow, Ava (showing an extremely feminine acid tongue) said "I always knew Frank would end up marrying a boy". Attagirl, Ava!

What to say about Grace Kelly? She was the prefect bride, the perfect Hitchcock heroine, the perfect princess and the perfect woman. Isn't it paradoxical that the most impeccable, elegant and admirable princess ever was from Philadelphia?

I find this picture of Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio really moving. She looks just so innocent and happy on her wedding day. Makes me feel really sorry for the way things went wrong for her afterwards. Her chocolate brown fur collared jacket, by the way, is one of the leading characters in Michael Chabon's novel Wonderboys. If you haven't read that yet do it! It's delirious.

...And Space Age Audrey, some years later, with Luca Dotti. Doesn't she look adorable?

Liz Taylor and Richard Burton in one of their weddings (although I can't quite remember which one). Her hairdo is really the most, I wish more brides got inspiration from it!

After her Factory years, Edie Sedgwick grew her hair and let it go back to her real colour, got a West Coast tan and changed her minimal minidresses for multicoloured hippy-ish numbers. She also got married. Even in this Woodstock-meets San Francisco wedding she manages to look enchanting.

Thank God for John Lennon and Yoko Ono! They always did things their way. Of course they had to defy wedding conventions on the day they got married. They chose white, though.

Mick & Bianca Jagger, AKA Rock Royalty.

Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain in their grunge wedding in Waikiki. She was six months pregnant and wore a dress that had once belonged to Frances Farmer. He said he was too lazy to wear a tuxedo so he just wore his pyjamas.